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Beyond Terrorism ~ Bilal Ahmed
The last three and a half weeks have been incredibly stressful, and I am sure those readers who are familiar with the recent controversies facing BAKA: Students United for Middle Eastern Justice can understand why. BAKA is a secular and political campus organization that attempts to combat injustices by raising awareness of those injustices currently taking place in the Middle East and its Diasporas. While I am a member of BAKA’s executive board, this article conveys opinions that belong to me as an individual rather than the group as a whole.
The Case for Muslim Atheism ~ Bilal Ahmed
Recently, during a panel session on Arab-American affairs, I asked, “What do you believe to be the role of Muslim secularists and Muslim-Atheists in revolutionary movements which have been increasingly framed in an Islamic context?” I meant this in reference to the global Islamic Revival which followed the 1967 Six Day War. Grumbles of disagreement occurred almost immediately, and I was confused as to why my inquiry had caused controversy.
JVP Speaks: What is Civic Duty?
Project Civility is in full swing at Rutgers, whether you noticed it or not. The initiative’s aim is to get people to ask questions about what it means to be part of a community, about how people should treat one another, and what can be done to improve the quality of people’s treatment of others. Of course, the whole initiative is voluntary rather than mandatory, which means that, chances are, one likely won’t be prompted to participate in Project Civility in one’s day to day. At the very least, I’ve yet to be prompted, so I figured that I’d prompt myself and my fellow JVPers to participate ourselves with this week’s question: Should America have a notion of civic duty if it doesn’t already? Why or why not? If so, what should it entail?
JVP Speaks: Are you going to vote?
Hello and welcome to JVP Speaks! In this soon-to-be-a-recurring-feature, contributors will kick-off a discussion on a particular topic by writing on a single prompt. This week the JVP asked itself: are you voting? Why or why not? Feel free to answer the question yourself, comment on any of our answers, and to generally get the ball rolling on this important topic! Here’s what we had to say:
Voting is Less than the Least that You Can Do ~ Ben Kharakh
To me, voting seems like less than the least that one can do. And to say that this sort of sentiment breeds apathy is mistaken. You can be civic-minded and active and still not vote. In fact, I’d take a community of people who care about each other and are active participants in each other’s lives over a community of voters any day of the week.
Lower the Voting Age ~ Ben Kharakh
“I think fourteen-year-olds should be allowed to vote,” I told my girlfriend. “Why not thirteen-year-olds?” she asked. “Sure, they can too.” “Twelve-year-olds?” “Sure, why not?” “Eleven-year-olds?” I paused to think. “You, know, I’m not sure how long someone should be a part of a rigorous education system before they’re critically thinking.” “Then how about you can vote when you think you’re ready to vote?” she asked. “Perfect!” I said.
On Corruption, Tomatoes, and Why You’re in Grad School or Back at Home Instead of Working at a Real Job ~ Brendan Kaplan
As I sit here on this first cool day of my last year at Rutgers University, I can’t believe the amount of change I have seen in the world over the past ten years.
Our nation has experienced a series of devastating events, each evoking distant seeming memories of times long ago. As the Project for A New American Century (PNAC) put it, “a new pearl harbor”, found in 9/11 both shocked and energized us. The country pulled together and a feeling of nostalgic familiarity of “the just war”, last seen during WWII, made us all sure that America could rise above this crisis as it had others in the past.
Obama in the House – Alex Giannattasio
As Of Yet Untitled
Let me be clear: I am not an Obama supporter. I did not vote for the man, and frankly, I disagree with the majority of his policy initiatives. That said, to my mind, no President has made a more real and concerted effort to cut through the muck of political rhetoric (read: lies) and work in a bipartisan manner with the opposing party.
What Happened in Massachusetts? – Matia Guardabascio
When I received my absentee ballot to vote in the special election to replace the late great Ted Kennedy, I felt an immeasurable disappointment with the names I saw on… Read more
Deeper into the Hub City: A Tour with Bill Bray – Ben Kharakh
In his last piece, Ben Kharakh took a tour of New Brunswick with Charlie Kratovil, local political activist, to get an inside view of the Hub City. This week, Ben took the time to tour the city with Bill Bray, City Spokesman to incumbent Mayor Jim Cahill, in order to get the other side of the story. Bill spoke of his time in New Brunswick and some of the city’s positions on low income housing the “swing space” school on Jersey Avenue, and initiatives to combat littering.
